EXCLUSIVE: Christopher Meloni has been in the news of late following the cancellation of Law & Order: Organized Crime revolving around his long-time Law & Order franchise character NYPD detective Elliot Stabler.
But with the series mothballed for more than a year prior to being officially axed, Meloni has not been resting in his laurels.
Aside from working on Dan Fogelman’s recently launched Hulu show The Land, a multi-generation drama set against the backdrop of the NFL, Meloni has found time to lend a hand to daughter Sophia Meloni on debut short Chop Cheese.
Deadline can reveal an exclusive short clip for the film – set against the backdrop of New York City’s bodega culture – ahead of its world premiere at the Palm Springs International ShortFest later this month.
Christopher Meloni and Michael Gandolfini put in guest appearances alongside teenage leads Luca Rickman, Anki Alvarez Marquez and Dylan Frankel. Further cast members include Mark Lake, Isabel Gillies, Lawrence Gilliard Jr., and Darrius Jones
Rickman stars as 16-year-old Dante as he navigates the fragile politics of teenage status in the city. When a neighborhood deli worker calls his best friend “boss,” the moment sparks an obsession that drives Dante to prove himself worthy of the same title, only to discover that respect comes at a cost.
The film explores the quiet rituals and micro-encounters that shape adolescence. As Dante repeatedly returns to the deli hoping to earn recognition, his pursuit of status spirals into consequences that force him to confront the meaning of responsibility and adulthood.
Chop Cheese is described as a family affair. Aside from his role as “Other Bodega Guy”, Christopher Meloni takes a production assistant credit and performed occasional grip duties.
Sophia Meloni’s artist and production designer mother Sherman Williams (Christopher Meloni’s wife of 30 years), is credited as “Crafty”, while the story was inspired by her brother Dante Meloni, who is also credited as production assistant.
Cousin Lisa Rudin (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, In the Dark of the Valley) produced, while Sasha Waters, another cousin, served as “animal wrangler.” Close family friend Michael Gandolfini and godmother Mariska Hargitay, Christopher Meloni’s longtime Law & Order co-star, receive a special thank you at the end of the film as well.
“My father was a doctor and broke the cardinal rule of treating his family, but within a scope that he knew he was proficient at,” said Christopher Meloni about being directed by his daughter.
“So, I guess the Melonis don’t particularly subscribe to the unwritten rule. Having said that, it was a beautiful honor to watch and be a part of a young artist that I happen to love deeply and admire greatly, take her first creative steps.”
The project grew out of a short story Sophia wrote in college inspired by observing her younger brother’s teenage years in New York. “Growing up here, I learned the moments that shape you most often happen in the margins, waiting, loitering, the small rituals that repeat until they quietly become your life,” she said. “The bodega felt like the perfect place to capture that.”
The film is the first in a series of shorts planned by Sophie Meloni, exploring adolescence through seemingly mundane events.
“It’s the seemingly trivial moments that are truer of the teenage experience. Ultimately, being sixteen is about everything happening all at once and nothing really happening at all. It’s about being so consumed by yourself that it’s blinding,” she said.
The film also features Aaron Freese as editor, Lexa Krebs as Director of Photography with original music by electronic producer and DJ, Callie Reiff.